Track assembly for toy vehicles

ABSTRACT

This invention, which encompasses a toy track system of an elevated railroad type, comprises a closed track for toy vehicles, said track being made up of a plurality of different forms of track sections each formed in an elongated boxlike hollow structure with its lower side opened, and a plurality of support means for supporting said track sections, said support means also serving as connecting means for said track sections.

United States Patent l0, 10 E; 104l5360;46/l, 216, 217

[72] Inventor Noriyuki Tsugawa [56] References Cited ymhp UNITED STATES PATENTS 2f 2 2 2,789,391 4/1957 Perry 46/216 l f 197 1 2,992,598 7/1961 Einfalt 238/l 0 E [73] Assignee Tomy Kogyo Co., Ltd. FOREIGN PATENTS Tokyo, Japan 24,199 7/1960 Germany 238/10 A [32] Priority Aug. 29,1968 258,286 4/1928 ltaly 46/216 [33] Japan Primary Examiner-Arthur L. La Point. [3] 43/74603 Assistant Examiner-Richard A. Bertsch Attorney-Moonray Kojima [54] ES P TOY VEHICLES ABSTRACT: This invention, which encompasses a toy track rawmg 5 system of an elevated railroad type, comprises a closed track [52] US. Cl 238/10 E, for toy vehicles, said track being made up of a plurality of dif- 46/l ferent forms of track sections each formed in an elongated [5 l Int. Cl A63h 19/30, boxlike hollow structure with its lower side opened, and a plu- A63h 19/36, A63h 21/04 rality of support means for supporting said track sections, said [50] Field of Smrch 238/10 F, support means also serving as connecting means for said track sections.

PATENTEDSEP Han SHEET 1 [IF a INVENTOR NOPWUM T5 U MW PATENTED SEP 7 I971 SHEET 2 UP a INVENT'OR.

Y NORIVUKI UUCANA W 7 ATTY TRACK ASSEMBLY FOR TOY VEHICLES SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a toy railroad, and more particularly to a new track assembly for toy elevated railroads, comprising a plurality of track sections and a plurality of supports, said track sections including various courses and adapted to be supported and connected together by means of said sup ports to form a continuous track.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and useful track assembly for toy elevated railroads, comprising a plurality of track sections which include various courses and a plurality of support members therefor, and which can be easily assembled and disassembled by children.

It is another object of the present invention to provide entertainment and amusement for children by providing a new and useful toy elevated railroad in which a toy vehicle runs along a continuous track.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a toy track system of the kind stated above which is attractive in appearance and which can be manufactured and sold at a reasonable cost.

Various other objects and advantages of the present inven tion will become evident from the following description and from the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to like parts or portions.

In the drawings showing one embodiment of the present invention:

FIG. I is a perspective view of a toy elevated railroad, as a whole, comprising a continuous track made up of a plurality of track sections and a plurality of support members therefor, a toy vehicle adapted to travel on the track, and certain ornamental accessories, of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a building unit for supporting and connecting together the track sections;

FIG. 3 is a vertical crosssectional view, with part broken away, of the building unit shown in FIGURE 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a leg means for supporting and connecting together the track sections;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an annular accessory member which is mounted on the leg means shown in FIG. 4-,

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an ornamental accessory unit to form an ornamental building assembly to be set together with the track assembly for decorative purposes;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the ornamental accessory unit shown in FIG. 6 in its upside-down position;

FIG. 8 and 9 are perspective views of other ornamental ac cessory units for different types of ornamental building assemblies;

FIG. It) is a perspective view of a straight track section, illustrating the structure thereof;

FIG. II is a perspective view of an inclined track section;

FIG. I2 is a perspective view of a curved track section;

FIG. 13 is a bottom view of a toy vehicle adapted to travel on the track; and

FIG. M is a front view of the toy vehicle shown in FIG. I3, illustrating the position in which the toy vehicle is put on the track.

The present invention will now be described in further detail in connection with an example of track assembly of the present invention by referring to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, a track assembly constituting preferred embodiment of the present invention, generally designated as A, includes a closed track B, a building assembly C and a support assembly D. Although the principles of the present invention may be applied to different types of track assemblies such, for example, as model railroad tracks, model highways, etc., it will be shown and described herein for purposes of illustration, but

not of limitation, as applied to a monorail,

Preferably, the track assembly A according to'the present invention is provided with a base plate I of an appropriate form, as shown in FIG. I. In the'illustrated embodiment, the

base plate I is provided, on its upper surface, with appropriate printed patterns such, for example, as those of elevated crosshighways l, and also with ornamental building assemblies 2, 3 and 4 which may be set on appropriate places. Each of said ornamental building assemblies comprises a plurality of building component units 2a, 3a or Ia stacked up to form a building. Preferably, these buildings 2, 3 and 4 are made so as to give different and fantastic appearances, respectively, as shown in FIG. I, from the decorative viewpoint.

On the base plate I is disposed a substantially cylindrical building base unit 5 on which is engagingly mounted a substantially hollow cylindrical intermediate building unit 6, on the top of which, in turn, is engagingly mounted a substantially hollow cylindrical building top unit 7 to form a building assembly C. The intermediate building unit 6 is provided with a bottom wall II and has its upper end open. The bottom wall 11 is provided with a centrally located circular seat section 9 which projects downwardly from the lower face of said bottom wall II in such a way that said seat section 9 is adapted to be received in the upper opening (not shown), which corresponds to said seat section in diameter, of the building base unit 5 so that-the intermediate building unit 6-is supported, at the annular lower face Ila of the bottom wall 11 of the intermediate building unit 6, by the annular upper face (not shown) of the cylindrical building base unit 5.

The building top 7 'also has a circular seat section (not shown) which projects downwardly from and centrally of the lower face of the bottom wall thereof in such a way that said seat section is adapted to be received in the upper opening 8 of the intermediate building unit 6 so that the top unit 7 is supported, at the annular lower face of the bottom wall of the top unit, by the annular upper face 8 of the intermediate unit 6. It is to be noted that the intermediate building unit 6 is constructed so that a desired number of units 6 may be stacked up one upon another by inserting the downwardly projecting circular seat section 9 into the upper opening 8 of each of these intermediate building units 6. The cylindrical sidewall 6a of the intermediate unit 6 is provided with apertures l0, 10, in diametrically opposite positions in the wall 60. The bottom wall II of the intermediate unit 6 is provided, on the central portion of its upper surface, with two receiving lugs I2, I2 which project upright from the upper face 9' of said bottom wall 11 in such a way that each of them is tapered or, in other words, has lesser thickness as the receiving lug extends away from the upper face 9 of the bottom wall II and that these two lugs I2, 12, are aligned in a straight row in the direction of a diameter of the bottom wall so that these two lugs face each other at their sides with a spaced relationship therebetween leaving a required clearance therebetween. In the illustrated embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate building unit 6 is provided, in its sidewall 6a, with a plurality of windowlike apertures 6b, 6b, and also, on its sidewall 6a, with a pair of outward flanges 6e, 60 for decorative purposes, respectively. It is to be noted that the shapes of intermediate building unit 6, base unit 5 and top unit 7 may be other than those of the units 6, 5 and 7 illustrated in the drawings. However, it is desirable that these units 5, 6 and '7 which constitute a buildingassembly C are shaped as decoratively fantastic as possible so that the toy according to the present invention may cause children to dream about a possible future new city in the world.

The monorail track B on which a motor-driven toy vehicle E is adapted to travel comprises a plurality of straight course track section I4, a plurality of curved course track sections I6. These track sections or units 14, I5 and I6 are identical in structure except that they are distinguished from each other by the direction in which they extend, such as, straight, curved or inclined. These track sections are provided, on the upper sides thereof, with roughened surfaces Ida, 15a and I611. In the illustrated embodiment, thcsurfaces 14a, 15a and 16a are serrated so that the suitable frictional contact between the surfaces and front and rear wheels 35, 37 of the monorail car E may be ensured to thereby prevent the wheels to be skidded during the travel of the car E.

Each of the monorail track sections 14, 15 and 16 is of a rectangular boxlike structure which is formed by an upper wall forming the upper Surface 14a, 15a, 16a, sidewalls 17, 17, 17 and end walls 18, 18, 18. This rectangular boxlike structure is further divided into smaller rectangular boxlike compartments 19 which are formed by the upper wall, the side and end walls 17, 18 and partition walls 20.

The support assembly D comprises a leg means 21 for supporting the individual track sections 14, 15 and 16 and for connecting one track section 14, 15 or 16 to another track section 14, 15 or 16, and an ornamental ringlike fitting 26. The leg means 21 comprises a base portion 22 and a strut portion 23 which projects upright and tapers as it extends away from the base portion 22. The strut portion 23 is provided, in its upper end, with a slit 24 which splits the upper end portion diametrically into two oppositely facing segments. Two separate receiving lugs 25, 25 are formed in an aligned row on both sides of said slit 24. The ringlike fitting 26 is provided, on the inner peripheral face of the doughnut-shaped section thereof, with a lug 27 for being received in said slit 24. On both sides of the lug 27, there are formed two opposing faces 28, 28 to hold, therebetween, the upper portion of the strut section 23 of said leg means 21. To enhance the decorative effect, ornamental accessory members 26 in the form of a rocket are attached to the ringlike fitting 26. In order to fix this ringlike fitting 26 to the leg means 21, it is only necessary to insert the lug 27 of the ringlike fitting 26 in the slit 24 formed in the upper portion of the strut section 23.

In order to connect the aforesaid track sections 14, 15 and 16 of different courses together, the procedure begins with, for example, stacking, on the top of the building base unit 5, the intermediate building unit 6, and on the top of the latter is, in turn, mounted the building top unit 7. In this way, these building units 5, 6 and 7 are assembled into a building assembly C. The building assembly C thus assembled may be placed either on or outside the base plate 1. Then, a plurality of the support assemblies D assembled in the manner described above are spacedly disposed on suitable surfaces. Thereafter, individual track sections which are selected, as desired, from the group of track sections of the aforesaid three types 14, 15 and 16 are mounted edgewise on the pair of receiving lugs 12, 12 of the intermediate building unit 6, and then edgewise on the plurality of receiving lugs 25, 25 of the plurality of support assemblies D in succession, and then edgewise on the pair of receiving lugs (not shown, but they are structured in the same way as those of the intermediate building unit) of the building top unit 7. In this way, the hollow sections 19 located at the ends of the track units are engagingly received by the receiving lugs 12 and 25, and as a result, the track units are firmly connected to each other to form a continuous monorail track B. In order to connect two individual track sections together within the intermediate building unit 6, these two track sections are first inserted edgewise in the unit through the opposite apertures 10, 10 formed in the cylindrical sidewall of the unit, and then the end portions of both track sections are placed on the receiving lugs l2, 12 so that the lugs are inserted in the hollow sections 19 located in the extreme end portions of these track units.

When the desired number of individual track sections l4, l and 16 have thus been connected to each other to form a closed track B, the toy vehicle E may be put on the track and made to run along it in a conventional manner. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the toy vehicle E is made in the form of a monorail car so that it may travel along the monorail track B. The vehicle or monorail car E includes a substantially rectangular frame 29 having longitudinally elongated apertures 30, 31 in the front and rear portions thereof. On both sides of the apertures 30, 31, there are provided two pairs of vertical pivot pins 32, 33 which depend from the bottom surface of the frame 29, respectively. A guide roller 32', 33 is rotatably mounted on each of the pivot pins 32, 33 so that it can be rotated about its vertical axis. A front axle 34 is rotatably secured to the frame 29 and carries a front wheel 35 which projects slightly downwardly through the front aperture 30. Also, a rear axle 36 is rotatably secured to the frame 29 and carries a rear wheel 37 which projects slightly downwardly through the rear aperture 31. The front and rear wheels 35, 37 are made of a rubber material.

Power for driving the vehicle E is supplied to the rear wheel 37 by an electric motor 38 having an output shaft (not shown) having at one end thereof a pinion (not shown through the medium of a gear train 39. A dry cell (not shown) which is in circuit with the motor 38 is housed in the car body 40. A hood member 41 is detachably mounted on the front portion of the body 40 so that the dry cell may be replaced with new one. In dicated by numeral 42 is a switch lever to close and open the motor circuit. This switch lever 42 projects downwardly through an aperture 43 formed in the frame 29.

When the vehicle E is put on the track B, the front and rear wheels 35, 37 are brought into frictional contact with the serated or roughened upper surface of the track, and at the same time, the two pairs of vertical guide rollers 32', 33' are brought into loose contact with side faces 17 of the track 8, respectively, as shown in FIG. 14, so that the vehicle E may be guided along the track by said guide rollers and that the vehicle is prevented from falling off out of the track during its travel. As the switch lever 42 is turned on, the motor 38 starts rotating and transmits its power to the rear wheel 37, thus enabling the vehicle E to travel along the closed track B.

As has been stated above, the railway assembly for toy vehi cles of the present invention employs straight course track units, curved course track units and inclined course track units, all of which units are so structured as to be supported, in the form of an elevated railroad, on a plurality of building and support assemblies. By altering the selection of the track units, it is possible for the user to form an overhead-type cross railroad having various different courses as desired. Besides, according to the present invention, the railroad may be assembled together or disassembled apart with a quite simplified procedure and without any difficulty. Furthermore, the individual track units, building units, support members and accessory members can be manufactured in large quantities at a low cost, since they can be all molded from a suitable plastics material.

While the particular toy herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the preferred embodiment of the invention and that no limitations are intended as to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A track assembly for toy vehicles, comprising, in com bination, a plurality of individual track sections including straight track sections, curved track sections and inclined track sections, at least a building assembly and a plurality of support assemblies, said building assembly and said support assemblies being arranged to support said track sections, each of said track sections being formed in an elongated boxlike hollow structure with its lower side opened, said building assembly comprising at least a building unit which is a substantially hollow body having a bottom wall, said bottom wall having on its upper face upwardly projecting receiving lugs, said support assemblies each comprising a columnar body having on its top upwardly projecting receiving lugs, the lugs of said building assemblies and of said support assemblies being adapted to be inserted in the hollow sections of the individual track sections at the extreme end portions thereof to thereby form a continuous track supported on said building assembly and said support assemblies, wherein said building unit is provided with an upper opening which is defined by its sidewall and also with a section which projects downwardly from the lower face of said bottom wall to form a recessed lower face around said section, said section being designed to fit said opening, whereby a desired number of the same building units as said building unit may be stacked on upon another by inserting the downwardly projecting section of one building unit into the upper opening of another building unit until the recessed lower face of the former comes into contact with the upper face of the sidewall of the latter.

2. A track assembly for toy vehicles, comprising, in combination, a plurality of individual track sections including straight track sections, curved track sections and inclined track sections, at least a building assembly and a plurality of support assemblies, said building assembly and said support assemblies being arranged to support said track sections, each of said track sections being formed in an elongated boxlike hollow structure with its lower side opened, said building assembly comprising at least a building unit which is a substantially hollow body having a bottom wall, said bottom wall having on its upper face upwardly projecting receiving lugs, said support assemblies each comprising a columnar body having on its top upwardly projecting receiving lugs, the lugs of said building assemblies and of said support assemblies being adapted to be inserted in the hollow sections of the individual track sections at the extreme end portions thereof to thereby form a continuous track supported on said building assembly and said support assemblies, wherein each of said support assemblies comprises a columnar body and an ornamental ringlike member, said columnar body having a base portion and a strut portion which extends upwardly from the base portion and which is provided, in its upper end portion, with a vertical slit which splits the upper end portion diametrically into two oppositely facing segments on which said receiving lugs are provided, said ringlike member having, on a portion thereof, a

lug which extends radially from said portion, said lug being arranged to be inserted in said vertical slit, whereby said columnar body and said ringlike member are assembled into support assembly.

3. A track assembly for toy vehicles, comprising, in combination, a plurality of individual track sections including straight track sections, curved track sections and inclined track sections, at least a building assembly and a plurality of support assemblies, said building assembly and said support assemblies being arranged to support said track sections, each of said track sections being formed in an elongated boxlike hollow structure with its lower side opened, said building assembly comprising at least a building unit which is a substantially hollow body having a bottom wall, said bottom wall having on its upper face upwardly projecting receiving lugs, said support assemblies each comprising a columnar body having on its top upwardly projecting receiving lugs, the lugs of said building assemblies and of said support assemblies being adapted to be inserted in the hollow sections of the individual track sections at the extreme end portions thereof to thereby form a continuous track supported on said building assembly and said support assemblies, and including a base plate of an appropriate form on which said building assembly may be placed and ornamental accessory assemblies which may be placed on said base plate together with said building assembly, each of said accessory assemblies comprising a plurality of component units which are adapted to be stacked one upon another to form an accessory assembly. 

1. A track assembly for toy vehicles, comprising, in combination, a plurality of individual track sections including straight track sections, curved track sections and inclined track sections, at least a building assembly and a plurality of support assemblies, said building assembly and said support assemblies being arranged to support said track sections, each of said track sections being formed in an elongated boxlike hollow structure with its lower side opened, said building assembly comprising at least a building unit which is a substantially hollow body having a bottom wall, said bottom wall having on its upper face upwardly projecting receiving lugs, said support assemblies each comprising a columnar body having on its top upwardly projecting receiving lugs, the lugs of said building assemblies and of said support assemblies being adapted to be inserted in the hollow sections of the individual track sections at the extreme end portions thereof to thereby form a continuous track supported on said building assembly and said support assemblies, wherein said building unit is provided with an upper opening which is defined by its sidewall and also with a section which projects downwardly from the lower face of said bottom wall to form a recessed lower face around said section, said section being designed to fit said opening, whereby a desired number of the same building units as said building unit may be stacked on upon another by inserting the downwardly projecting section of one building unit into the upper opening of another building unit until the recessed lower face of the former comes into contact with the upper face of the sidewall of the latter.
 2. A track assembly for toy vehicles, comprising, in combination, a plurality of individual track sections including straight track sections, curved track sections and inclined track sections, at least a building assembly and a plurality of support assemblies, said building assembly and said support assemblies being arranged to support said track sections, each of said track sections being formed in an elongated boxlike hollow structure with its lower side opened, said building assembly comprising at least a building unit which is a substantially hollow body having a bottom wall, said bottom wall having on its upper face upwardly projecting receiving lugs, said support assemblies each comprising a columnar body having on its top upwardly projecting receiving lugs, the lugs of said building assemblies and of said support assemblies being adapted to be inserted in the hollow sections of the individual track sections at the extreme end portions thereof to thereby form a continuous track supported on said building assembly and said support assemblies, wherein each of said support assemblies comprises a columnar body and an ornamental ringlike member, said columnar body having a base portion and a strut portion which extends upwardly from the base portion and which is provided, in its upper end portion, with a vertical slit which splits the upper end portion diametrically into two oppositely facing segments on which said receiving lugs are provided, said ringlike member having, on a portion thereof, a lug which extends radially from said portion, said lug being arranged to be inserted in said verticAl slit, whereby said columnar body and said ringlike member are assembled into support assembly.
 3. A track assembly for toy vehicles, comprising, in combination, a plurality of individual track sections including straight track sections, curved track sections and inclined track sections, at least a building assembly and a plurality of support assemblies, said building assembly and said support assemblies being arranged to support said track sections, each of said track sections being formed in an elongated boxlike hollow structure with its lower side opened, said building assembly comprising at least a building unit which is a substantially hollow body having a bottom wall, said bottom wall having on its upper face upwardly projecting receiving lugs, said support assemblies each comprising a columnar body having on its top upwardly projecting receiving lugs, the lugs of said building assemblies and of said support assemblies being adapted to be inserted in the hollow sections of the individual track sections at the extreme end portions thereof to thereby form a continuous track supported on said building assembly and said support assemblies, and including a base plate of an appropriate form on which said building assembly may be placed and ornamental accessory assemblies which may be placed on said base plate together with said building assembly, each of said accessory assemblies comprising a plurality of component units which are adapted to be stacked one upon another to form an accessory assembly. 